Seth MacFarlane Profile In “The New Yorker”: 10 Revelations

The latest issue of The New Yorker (Jun. 18) offers a six-page profile of Family Guy creator and Ted director Seth MacFarlane. The article isn’t available online yet. Here, ten takeaways from the piece:

1. Seth MacFarlane is the highest-paid writer-producer in television history, the article claims. His current contract guarantees him around $33 million a year.

2. MacFarlane feels that animation doesn’t get any respect. He says, “There’s a prejudice against the medium of animation. I don’t care about winning awards, but it’ll be nice to do something that is perceived as slightly more significant. . . . The Simpsons is a show that outclasses any number of live-action sitcoms, and it has never got any recognition. It’s like Sammy Davis, Jr., at the Sands. Everyone recognized that he was a great entertainer and an enormous talent, but, you know: Stay out of the casino.”

3. Seth MacFarlane once worked for fifteen months straight, seven days a week, and had to be hospitalized for exhaustion. Nowadays, he sometimes doesn’t show up for table reads, even if there are dozens of writers, voice actors and network execs waiting for him. He says he’s less stressed “by not rushing and giving myself a heart attack trying to get everywhere exactly on time.”

4. MacFarlane lives in a $13.5 million gated villa in Beverly Hills (visit it here), drives an Aston Martin, owns a replica of the DeLorean that Michael J. Fox drove in Back to the Future, and owns a share in a private jet.

5. On dating D-list starlets like Christa Campbell, Eliza Dushku, Kate Todd and Amanda Bynes: “It’s exhausting dating several people at once. It gets tiresome, because people think they have you prematurely figured out. . . .I’m not somebody who has to go home and talk about theoretical physics at the end of a day when I’ve already been wringing my brain dry. I don’t necessarily look for an intellectual equal. I’d rather have somebody whose company excites me. That’s what my father had. My father and my mother were not–they were not intellectual equals by any means.”

6. Seth MacFarlane’s mom, Perry, who died in 2010, masturbated a dog once, which is a source of humor around the office.

7. MacFarlane attributes the crude ethnic humor in his shows to his predominantly Jewish writing staff: “We are presenting the Archie Bunker point of view and making fun of the stereotypes–not making fun of the groups. But if I’m really being honest, then maybe there’s a part of me that’s stuck in high school and we’re laughing because we’re not supposed to. I don’t know the psychology. At the core, I know none of us gives a shit. Some people say that stereotypes exist for a reason. I’m in no way qualified to make that determination. But I’m sitting in a room with a writing staff that is in large part Jewish, and those are the guys pitching the jokes.”

8. Seth MacFarlane is a fan of the classics: he prefers Frank Sinatra over Nirvana (a band that makes him want to blow his brains out), and prefers to watch old movies like Red River and Hope-and-Crosby films over new TV shows.

9. MacFarlane likes to get spray-on tans. From the article: During Family Guy‘s seventh season, a young woman began showing up at the office. Without explanation, she would wheel a large piece of equipment into a lavatory just off the writers’ room and wait there for MacFarlane, who would excuse himself and disappear into the bathroom. Several former staff members told me that although everyone could hear the whooshing sound of a spray-tan machine, no one dared make a joke about it when MacFarlane emerged, bronzed and burnished.

10. The simple reason MacFarlane’s Flintstones reboot fizzled: Fox asked him to redo the script that he turned in and he declined.

Earth to Seth! If you want what you state in number 2, animation to get more respect than do us all a favour and stop animating. The minute you stop churning out half assed cartoons with a dysfunctional family set up animation will get the respect it deserves.

Jens

Wow! You think that is going to make a difference?Haven’t read such rubbish in a long time.

Marie

D may have overstated the point but the point is still valid. If MacFarlane wants animation to get more respect, he should use his position, influence and talents to create more respectable animation. Instead, his work is, by his own admission, sophomoric. MacFarlane has THREE (I think) animated series on t.v. (Family Guy, The Cleveland Show and American Dad) and none of them make the effort to rise to the levels for which he allegedly wishes. Even the live-action Ted looks childish. If he wants a change, he should be bold enough to make it and others might actually follow.

Hulk

The very fact that ‘Family Guy’ is the most popular animated show, proves how little respect Animation gets.

Shmulk

Seth McFarlane and Family Guy are not to blame here. Family Guy is a great show. It’s just been on too long. You can’t tell me you never laughed at it. He’s daring for throwing out jokes that most people dont get. Heck the show was even cancelled and the people demanded it back. I’m excited to see his live action film. He defenitely deserves a shot. Just like the Simpsons I absolutely love them but cant watch them anymore cause I’ve just seen enough. Seth McFarlane got his shot and he’s rolling with it. I can’t agree with Family Guy being the scapegoat for animation not getting any respect. All those children’s shows on Disney and Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, that are cooked up by parents and focus groups should be the reason Animation gets no respect. All the Hannah Barbera cartoons from the 60′s, 70′s, and 80′s (Forgive ME!!) even though they were some of the best character designs ever, were crude and the stories were defenitely lacking creating the perfect package to sell to an unsuspecting young child. Family Guy has more respect for animation than you realize. It’s on a night called the Animation Domination. No night ever existed when I was a wee tyke. It takes risks. I’m always shocked at how far they take a joke even if the joke isn’t up to standards or it’s lame. Garfield has been doing the same joke every sunday for over 30 years. Is anyone calling foul on Garfield. Another good thing are the Characters, they are fun and likeable. When Peter farts in Megs face I cheer him on. The reason Animation get’s no respect is because there’s some of us on this website who have a passion for this while most of the world is watching the basketball game and cannot be bothered by some silly talking mice.

http://www.twitter.com/feliciasavage Felicia Savage

Eloquently put, Shmulk! While “Family Guy” is, by no means, the best animated show on television, it was a fun show at one point.

My main issue with MacFarlane is that he isn’t doing anything to help everyone’s perspective on animation. All three of his shows are FUN (that’s my opinion, at least), they’re all drawn in the same style and they’re basically the same damn show.

Piggybacking off my above statement, how often do you see Seth MacFarlane AT animation events and animation award ceremonies? I have no problem with him being filthy rich, but he should put his money where his mouth is. By going to animation events, festivals and so on, he could feasibly use his promoted, personal brand to get people’s attention and get them INTERESTED in animation. Think about it! I’ve yet to see him tweet anything concerning the Ottawa or Annecy film festivals. Anyone else agree?

Snagglepuss

Fun fact, Family Guy is the first show to get an Emmy Nom for best TV comedy. So he’s doing just fine for animation.

OtherDan

Nobody teased him when he came out of the bathroom with a spray on tan? Now, that’s power!

Crystal

I’m not a fan of Family Guy (even though I like/respect some of their talent like Dan Povenmire and the late Ricky Garduno), but I don’t see what’s so bad about #2 and #8 (even though I dislike it when people think all new things suck–I actually thought he portrayed Kurt Cobain positively like twice, although that could’ve been someone else’s gag).

What’s with the Sylvester Stallone-ish picture? XD

http://www.platypuscomix.net Peter

“It’s not, it’s not racist. Guys, it’s 21st century racism. It’s racism in light of itself. The only reason I’m saying these things Is because the stigmas about race are already there And I’m just playing off of that. And they understand that. So if after the show, you see like a black guy beating me up, he’s doing it ironically, okay?” –Bo Burnham

Paul M

Only once, eh?

Gobo

“it’ll be nice to do something that is perceived as slightly more significant…”

We’re all waiting, Seth. Let us know when you get around to doing something slightly more significant.

Ben

Yeah, I feel like that’s true. Don’t get me wrong, I like Family Guy, and I also understand what he’s saying in #2 and agree with it. At the same time, I wish he would break out of his own mold and do something bold and different to maybe get some of that respect he’s after.

wever

There is ONE SINGULAR time where I think he practices what he talks about: the Disney parallel universe from “Road To The Multi-Universe” with the song “It’s A Wonderful Day For Pie”, and that wasn’t even produced under his studio, dammit all! I shall rererewatch that forever.

Greg Colton

Wever – I storyboarded and directed the pie song sequence, so – yes, it was produced in house at Fox Animation/Family Guy. As you probably know, the show is normally animated in Korea…we wanted to hire feature animators to animate the sequence in Los Angeles, so we worked with Mainstreet Productions who helped make that happen and got us great talent like Darlie Brewster, Sandro Cleuzo, Tony Pulham, Bronnie Barry and others (sorry if I left you out…it’s been a while!)

wever

Oh, so it was the same studio. My bad. Thanks for the correction.

http://she-thing.blogspot.com Caty

Sorry Mr. McFarlaneâ€¦ it’s like Beckham’s Samsung AD: playing Ode To Joy with footballs won’t make you any smarter.
Mr. M you’re giving jews a bad name. When you find the difference between mean and funny I’ll certainly pay attention to what you do.

Tak

33 million every 12 months? Who the hell is that contract with? Fox? Is that his own personal contract & income, or is that his business contract & play/funding that includes the overheads & budget for development & production? Seriously, they’re paying the wrong people far too much, a 33mil contract, how does this even happen?

http://909pop.com Mike Scott

Regardless about whether I like or dislike Family Guy and his other stuff, the guy’s done well for himself. Built like a mini-empire for himself with animation, and I sure do take my hat off to that. I wouldn’t say he’s doing groundbreaking stuff for the medium (has it all been done already? eee) but a lot of it is pretty slick and a LOT of the comic timing is spot on. Props.

wever

You chose an incredibly flattering photo.

Toonio

Hey, what about the facts Family Guy got canceled 3 times and nobody know what keeps the Cleveland Show around with such low numbers.

wever

So wait. You’re telling me that Amanda Bynes, who guest-starred as Chris’ one-off love interest for one episode, was DATING Seth at the time?!? Well, now we know how she got that gig! She’s 12 years younger than he is! …. well it’s a bit of a relief knowing that he’s at least trying to date even when making fun of everything ever ever.

His mom died in 2010 and he still has the gall to make fun of her with the writing staff?! What a heartless– *DING* Oh! My waffles are done!

I heard his revival of The Flintstones wasn’t canceled- it’s simply on hold. He’s just too busy.

wever

Nevermind. My point should be about Kate Todd instead of Amanda Bynes- she’s even younger!

i hate family guy and am not a huge seth mcfarlane fan but this actually made me like him. i respect someone who has that kind of crazy work ethic and if it pays off and also isn’t afraid to say what they think and be ‘real’ even if i don’t agree with or like the humor.

thebullfrog

Respect is a two-way street. Maybe Seth will get more when he drops running gags like drawing his central character’s chin to look like testicles.

Jorge Garrido

Most of the takeaways are totally legit, and don’t make me find me more irritating than I already do. Seth has good taste in music and movies, but his work output is 100% unmitigated garbage.

Chris

Why do people on this website like to pile on writers so much? This guy’s hilarious. A talented voice actor, too.

Can’t wait to see Ted and his new COSMOS.

wever

On the contrary. I barely ever see this site pile on writers. Seth and only a few other select people are the targets, not ALL cartoon writers.

bones

Jealousy. People in this industry get offended because he is hugely successful & they don’t like the way his shows are animated.

He may not work hard now, but every bit of info I’ve read about the guy states that he worked his ass off to get to where he is. If he wants to zip around in a time machine all spray tanned up, more power to him.

Jorge Garrido

Jealousy? Funny, I never hear people get down on Trey Parker or Matt Groening. How come nobody is “jealous” of them but they are of Seth.

When someone accuses you of being jealous because said something not 100% candy-like positive about someone else, it’s more a sign of that person’s ego.

Anthony D.

Agreed. I do like Seth’s work (though mostly American Dad).

Arthur F.

The Flinstones re-boot is now officially not going to happen then?

In the end of the day, there are indeed a FEW great examples from his work, specific episodes that go somewhere challenging, mostly character-driven strange psychological cul-de-sacs, but on the whole, it will never really be able to compare with the neighbors, the television animation work of simpsons/futurama, or for that matter, even B&B, King of the Hill. Just compare the music understanding between those three creators, Seth talks about Sammy Davis? Only hears Sinatra? He remains unable to process anything of his contemporary experience without going in high school, a bit like the main character from “Being There”, but not tv, highschool.
As long as Brian and Stewie have a few special episodes, why not.

Adam

Not really surprised by any of this. #2 is pretty much hypocritical, it’s kind of hard to give current animation any respect when your all 3 of your shows barely have any animation in them, all have the same basic setup and will then make fun of the fact that the shows are just clones of each other. “Maybe there’s a part of me that’s stuck in high school”, well that’s not surprising. Family Guy in the first four seasons at least in my opinion had a much more sophisticated approach to comedy, but since then the show has gone the route of the “highschool” mentality of awkward/uncomfortable, mean, and crude humor. If anything, Seth’s shows have turned into a no filter web series, just on TV. It’s hard for people to respect animation when your current animated shows are more disposable than a paper plate.

http://www.animationinsider.net/ Aaron B.

Another tally in the “lifestyles of the [insert description here]” — but hey, if somebody was crazy enough to pay me thirty million bucks a year, I’d drive a Bond car, too.

Pedro Nakama

All of the comments posted here are funnier than any episode of Family Guy.

http://dannyhynes.tumblr.com Danny Hynes

’7. MacFarlane attributes the crude ethnic humor in his shows to his predominantly Jewish writing staff: “We are presenting the Archie Bunker point of view and making fun of the stereotypesâ€”not making fun of the groups. But if I’m really being honest, then maybe there’s a part of me that’s stuck in high school and we’re laughing because we’re not supposed to. I don’t know the psychology. At the core, I know none of us gives a shit. Some people say that stereotypes exist for a reason. I’m in no way qualified to make that determination. But I’m sitting in a room with a writing staff that is in large part Jewish, and those are the guys pitching the jokes.”’

Why does he just get a pass on this? All of his shows are misogynistic and racist, albeit in a backhanded ‘wink-wink’ kind of way. Why is no one angry about it? He’s too smart to just throw his hands up and say…”Oh I don’t know…some Jewish guys wrote it…and you know how THEY are!” WTF!!!!!!!! STOP GIVING HIM MONEY!!!

http://los-utopicos.blogspot.com allari

He’s no Mel Brooks i can tall you that :P

http://bakertoons.blogspot.com/ Charles Brubaker

Not bad for someone who started out writing on “Johnny Bravo” and “Cow and Chicken”.

Chris Sobieniak

Some thoughts as I read though these…

1. Whatever
2. Why don’t you practice what you preach?
4. Because you have money.
6. I guess I feel more proud that my mom didn’t go there!
7. Yadda-yadda-yadda
8. I guess that’s why we get the “Road To” episodes or Stewie dancing with Gene Kelly happening.
9. Find it difficult in the sun maybe?
10. I suppose if he told us what he had in the script and why it was rejected the first time, I might change my mind about him.

http://ryanrosendal.blogspot.com Ryan

It’s always fun to see the knives come out whenever a discussion is related to Seth MacFarlane. Everybody’s got an opinion, that’s for sure!

Brendan Spillane

Seth MacFarlane’s Trilogy of Terror: Sundays on FOX!

Michael

Coddled to the point of not even knowing that he is now an asshole.

http://www.toonocity.com fremgen

Well big bucket of win for him, I guess you have to respect him for that. Did Hanna or Barbera ever do so well?

But wow, he makes 33 million a year. That’s funny since I pretty much turned down a storyboard job on Family Guy, because it couldn’t match what I was making video editing.

Scarabim

11. McFarlane likes to PERPETUATE stereotypes in his “humor”, since stereotypes are so much easier to write for.

12. McFarlane doesn’t know the difference between humor and slander (as per his continuous slanderous characterization of Walt Disney as an anti-Semite, thus perpetuating a lie that all too many young people assume is truth).

the_concerned_citizen

This right here every time he makes this unsubstantiated claim it pisses me off. This Despite the fact that Disnay had numerous Jewish people working with him as managers and had Jewish producers (they must have been self hating Jews according to Mcfarlane).

Menachem Rephun

The fact that he had Jews on his staff means nothing. It doesn’t mitigate the fact that he was an anti-semite. And so is McFarlane.

Matt Sullivan

I work for Seth ( I’m not his friend or anything, I’ve only talked to the guy once or twice ) But he’s real nice, down to Earth and hard working. I don’t get the hate, other than a lot of animators would love to have their own shows and think his brand of humor just doesn’t work for them.

If there are any gripes about the show I’ve worked on for the last few years, it is that it is SO damn WRITER-CENTRIC. Seriously, they treat the writers like gold here, buy them extravagant lunch every day while more or less ignoring those of us who actually have to MAKE the show. I think perhaps if Seth insisted there be more artist input in the shows, they might be better. ( though, with Seth shows it’s always seems people either love it, or hate it )

Don’t kill me Seth. I like this job ( for the few more months it lasts anyway )

Mac

I saw a bunch of family guy ‘directors’ come talk to us at CalArts. One of them talked about how they were able to influence the timing of a writers gag, and how it was so cool to occasionally have influence in making someone laugh watching the show. No one wanted to work for Family Guy after that presentation.

Smegasus

I heard from someone who works on The Cleveland Show that it is NOT getting renewed and everyone has been encouraged to “get work anywhere you can find it”.

So I guess everyone who’s griped about it, your long national nightmare is over.

Sarah J

I’m not surprised. Not just because the show was terrible, but because it honestly felt like the people making it just didn’t care about it. On top of that, Family Guy did make frequent jokes that the show was failing, so I guess they knew it was coming.

Jeff

No, it’s “turrible”.

Karl Hungus

Almost every day you have a conversation in this industry someone expresses their hatred for Seth. While I am not a fan of his, I find that I have more sympathy for him than anything. He’s quite sad.

It takes a certain mindset to be happy with very little money and the converse of that is equally true. Its very difficult to live a fulfilling life with the money Seth has thrown at him. He has no family of his own, he’s got a spray on tan, blinding white veneers on his teeth, hair died an unnatural black. I doubt he lives in a house with no mirrors, he simply has problems with how he views himself and with the yes men around him that all of that money will gather(as much as anyone in Hollywood)… I doubt he’s very happy.

But you turn on Family Guy and they are cashing in on jokes about Columbine. Seth McFarlane is a train wreck. I hope his new movie is a huge hit and he moves on from the animation world allowing Fox to get some new creators on their schedule. The world of Seth McFarlane just bums me out.

wever

That’s not his natural hair color!?!!!

He still has his sister who also voice acts, and his dad appeared in one episode so he’s got them.

3) You better get some live action credibility fast, or acquire sufficient social skills to hang with A-list producers, because even your non-intellectual-equals will figure out you can do zip for their careers.

4) Don’t tell the dog story.

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/author/amid amid

To be fair, MacFarlane didn’t tell the dog story in the article, an unidentified crewmember did.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Tigercat919 Michael F.

2. People still have that attitude towards animation that it’s a kids-only format that exists solely for marketing purposes. That and lots of the “adult” programs rely heavily on college fratboy humor and loads of sex and gay jokes. Kinda like what Seth MacFarlane does!
4. I’ve always felt that the early years of Family Guy were good and I still do; however, this is clearly evidence that the fame and fortune has gone to his head. Nowadays he’s stopped trying to make something good because he knows the modern day Family Guy fans will follow him everywhere he goes.
6. I sure hope that’s the truth and it’s not out of shock value. I wonder why she’d have to do it. :P
7. I don’t know, he comes very close to Michael Bay levels with it.
10. I wonder what the script was like. How many sex and gay jokes were there? What about Star Wars references? Did Dino sound like Charles Nelson Reilly?

Mapache

Highest paid writer. Golly.
His humor is criminally mean spirited

James

Seth MacFarlane should be everyone’s idol.

Blake

The comments here are really refreshing and really self affirming. I went through animation school thinking I was taking crazy pills, being one of the few who loathed everything family guy past the second season.

Some people are just jealous of his success and profit and think they can do better; I hope everyone sees that this is hardly his fault. How he flaunts it, well, maybe you could have an argument there, but on the face of it there should be no punishment for being popular and making people happy. I suggest you place your anger at the viewing public. They’re just as much yours to exploit with your own brand if you can get them to bite.

That said, I do think there are legitimate reasons to criticize. Here are a few things that I think really set animators off about Mr. MacFarlane.

Some people don’t like his zombie like following, swallowing every last bit of the lowest brow humor they can get. This is annoying in the way some people think Tim Burton can do no wrong. Where you could criticizes him, is the fact that he embellishes and plays in to it.

He comes off as arrogant about his skill set, but they’re really not exceptional enough to merit his status as a braggart. He’s not a very brilliant writer from what I’ve seen, and certainly not the funniest – most of his humor is formulaic and could come from less than an hour of browsing TV Tropes. Also, I think it’s worth it to mention that the writers only get mentioned here to be thrown under the bus for things HIS program releases.

But what I think the most annoying thing is, is that he pretends to be an “Animator’s Animator” while at the same time turning out these shoddily made, throw away animatics – chock full of low hanging fruit and thinly veiled exercises of egoism. Can he even draw anymore?

Say what you will about Walt Disney not knowing how to actually draw Mickey Mouse, at least he put out an exceptional end result. It just adds insult to injury that he answers #2 like he’s fighting some great injustice to the quality of animation.

Thank the seven gods that the Flintstones have been spared a horrible fate at the hands of his ‘genius’.

Lastly though, through all this divisiveness, I must concede that none can dispute his exceptional singing voice.

Jody Morgan

Wait, it’s possible to spend less than an hour browsing TV Tropes?

http://elblogderg.blogspot.com Roberto

Bring back Mission Hill and Clone High and forget about Seth McFarlane shows altogether.

Mike

I don’t blame him for watching old movies instead of television. There are a lot bad shows out there.

Three immediately come to mind.

Blake

Devastating.

Haywood Jablowme

Seth McFarlane is THE most successful writer/producer on TV and he’s an animator! So what if he’s a douche. So what if his shows ain’t your cup of chamomile. Be proud of the medium! One of us is killing it!

Besides, the dude has created hundreds of jobs for people who work in the animation industry, not to mention the residual affect of other producers throwing even more moolah at animation trying to copy McFarlane’s success.

http://clxcool.deviantart.com/ CLXcool

Jesus, why am I already grinding my teeth as Im reading these? Here’s what I gotta say for each and everything that is discussed throughout that list.

1. So rich that he’s not only screwed up the industry of animation, but has made adult animation a complete joke for animation buffs. Making the studios think that all adult animation should be drawn(as how John K puts it) like an 8 year old drawing, and make it follow the routes of his works. What a way to turn down the interest for people who WANT to get into the industry. He’s even lazy enough just to repeat himself 5 times! 4 times with animated series focused on families, and 1 time with a live-action movie focusing on a complete loser living with his teddy bear. Arent any of these familiar to anyone who isn’t stupid? They are all the same!

2. This one makes me want to beat the living crap out of Seth. What Seth is producing isn’t making people think animation for adults is nothing but a complete joke. Not a bright way to get people taking animation seriously. If anyone who is wanting to take animation seriously, look at these people who are ACTUAL cartoonists. Unlike this moneymaking F_cker, who I would consider as a coward for producing the same damn thing like 5 times. Without Talk to Brad bird, Ralph Bakshi, John K, Tim Burton, John Dilworth, Danny antonucci, Lauren Faust, Craig McCracken, The Chapman brothers, Matt Groening, Genndy Tartakovsky, or ANYONE in Japan. All of these guys are WAY better for producing good animation unlike Seth Macfarlane. Seth, just get the hell out of the animation industry now. You are making us non-professional cartoonists very angry with you for making the industry worst.

3. Why am I not surprised? I have a feeling he even stays up three nights without sleeping!

4. Not surprised, I already had a feeling he’s living somewhere rich like

5. Wonder why he’s not even married yet if he’s dated so many low class actresses. You think some of the high graded actresses would have either the hots or the eyes for Seth Macfarlane.

6. Some of us REALLY didn’t need to hear that Amid! Keep that stuff off the internet please!

7. That is something I seriously doubt. All Family guy ever does is make fun of anything that comes its way just for the sake of being offensive. American Dad focuses on the political terms from Seth and his crew, Cleveland on the other hand was just made just to get away with black humor. Which I am still questioning why NO AFRICAN AMERICAN has dared to sue Seth to death, like TheOriginalGagBonker stated in his rant on family guy. “If the golden age of animation of cartoons that had blackface caricatures/gags got into trouble, while Ralph Bakshi almost lost his career with Coonskin. Yet Seth Macfarlane hasn’t been attacked with Cleveland. Something isn’t right here.”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNrISzUMLRA

8. That isn’t too surprising considering that most of the episodes are referencing swing music as well as having musical numbers. So yea, that shouldn’t be too surprising.

9. I wonder if that led to the episode where Stewie decided to go tanning.

10. In all sure honesty, I’m glad that the flinstones reboot is dead. Even if Seth was a fan of the show, I would have hated his reboot. He has too many damn shows hogging up the fox network, so giving him this would be pushing it. if this reboot ever happens again(although, I’m not holding my breath though) Seth shouldn’t reboot the flinstones. He’s got too much crap on fox. If anyone should do the reboot, I’d give all my money to either John K or Matt Groening to do it. Not Seth Macfarlane. I hope I’m not the only one who would rather have John or Matt do the reboot over this sellout.

Before I finish this off. There are other animated shows for adults that are likely 10 times better than Seth’s bullshit. Clone high, Ren and Stimpy’s Adult Party Cartoon, Beavis and Butthead, South Park, Stripperella, hell even certain kid shows like Friendship is magic and Sym Bionic titan is way better than Seth’s bullshit. So in other wordsâ€¦.Watch animated shows from actual cartoonists and not sellouts who are abusing animation just for the sake of profit.

axolotl

#6 seconded. Todd McFarlane appears to be a jackass, and my saying so will not affect him in the least. But knowing this stuff about his mom may have ruined some Disney-loving senior citizen’s day.

Ermy

What was the point of #6 except to badmouth a dead woman via hearsay. It had nothing to do with MacFarlane’s work in animation and if someone had said something like that in the comments, they’d probably have had their post censored.

http://moviecappa.blogspot.com Mike Caracappa

I think the manatees with the idea balls on South Park pretty much define my feelings about Family Guy.

TimeForTimer

You know what I’m reading here? A bunch of bitter people who are jealous of someone’s success. Seth McFarlane may be limited in his talent as a writer and artist. But, he certainly found a niche that appreciates what he does best and for that he’s amply rewarded. So, I give him credit. Will he ever go beyond “Family Guy?” Who knows? Maybe not. But Matt Groening hasn’t gone too far from “The Simpsons,” either and I don’t read nearly as many snarky comments about him.

Mike

That’s because Matt Groening isn’t this guy.
And that’s a good thing.

Chuck DEEZY

The man has made a name for himself, no doubt about it. I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of Family Guy, I basically tune in and out but the show has deteriorated with each season. I’m the type of guy that would not notice things like that….

Anyway, after reading this article and most of the comments here, Seth is obviously not that popular. I love well-constructed, funny animation (Courage the Cowardly Dog, Dexter’s Lab, Cow and Chicken among others) and with that amount of money he’s coming into, I’d definitely do everything to bring that quality of animation back to T.V. But, unfortunately, I don’t and I envy his position and “influence” over the industry/network, whatever. I can’t talk ill of someone who has established themselves, it be a waste of time when I could be doing something better.

The issue is people are not familiar with what is good or bad animation, and, quite honestly, I don’t think they care. People just want to laugh, no matter how offensive the material. What is the point of getting angry over one guy? If you truly want people to open their minds to the possibilities, go independent…do better than Seth. The internet makes it possible and that needs to be taking advantage of before it’s too late.

James

I admire Seth MacFarlane greatly, but I am someone who is planning for a business career (in non-creative areas) rather than an animation career. MacFarlane is a businessman in every sense of the word. This is why he takes on so many projects even though he earns more than enough from the projects he already works on. It is also why the quality of Family Guy has arguably dropped and affects decisions on HOW he is involved with a project.

Once Family Guy was resurrected (the second time), it was essentially a guaranteed success. It had a dedicated fanbase, many of whom would watch regardless of how poor the quality was (r.e: see The Simpsons). The Cleveland Show’s initial success was also because of these fans, who welcomed it because of its direct link to Family Guy. Now the show’s ratings are falling because it has fulfilled its purpose – a quick way to extend the franchise.

By contrast, early Family Guy and American Dad, do get some praise because they are not guaranteed successes. The former obviously wasn’t because it got cancelled, and the latter because it retains a reputation as the weaker imitation of Family Guy. Effort has to be put into these, and so they are/were – but once Family Guy became hugely profitable, it was left to run and MacFarlane moved onto other projects.

Similarly, if you look at his imdb page you’ll notice the majority of his credits are as producer and actor. He has a writing credit for all episodes of his shows, but for most it is just ‘creator’ rather than ‘screenplay’ or even ‘story by.’ This again sums up his business – he is in charge and represents the ‘voice’ of the brand. He is so closely tied to the characters that sell the merchandise that there is no way the show could go on without him. The only exception is The Cleveland Show – which served purely as an extension of the Family Guy franchise anyway. He is the director and co-writer of Ted – but again he has put more involvement in the project because it may not be a success. Time will tell on that one.

To address the two points in the article directly:

2. It’s good for image to say he’s worried about that. But if he was, the work would be more varied and less crude.
7. Family Guy is a success. He knows he can put anything he wants into it, regardless of how offensive, so he does. Offensive material will continue to attract publicity after all.

So basically the the hated for MacFarlane and his success are understandable. He works on building brands, not cartoons – people like Walt Disney did both and retained quality – but business is what’s important to MacFarlane. Apologies for a far too long comment, but as someone who used to be a big MacFarlane fan and is still intrigued by his success, this is how I see it.

I find his work unwatchable, but it’s quite popular. I always think Family Guy is just “Wait ’till your father gets home” but with non-sequiturs.

Ara

I don’t care for Family Guy (even less for The Cleveland Show, ugh). But I can’t deny that I do like American Dad, only because it was a refreshing aside from all the Family Guy bullsh*t.

That being said, I don’t hate MacFarlane as much as the next guy, but I can honestly say that he is not doing the animation field any favors with the stuff he has out now. Stiff movement, a “mass-production” look to it. The only thing I can truly wish for him is to tone down his super mean/crude humor (I can’t even tell if his jokes are satirical anymore–esp when it comes to black jokes or that columbine thing), and to really make something new animation wise. Y’know, experiment, create something besides this family-sitcom stuff. It’s a dream now, but I can’t hate the guy for being successful. I just wish he would do something different animation wise…something that’s NOT Family Guy.

Sarah J

If Seth MacFarlane wants animation to get more respect, maybe he should consider doing projects that would warrant more respect. The guy has a TON of influence. He has multiple high-rated shows on TV and the fact that he’s the highest-paid TV producer, uh, EVER, indicates that the studios want to keep him around. They’ll probably let him do a lot of what he wants.

Most people today will tell you that animation isn’t just for kids, but I still say we’re stuck in the “Animation Age Ghetto” because even most of the adult animation in the US is comedy. When people don’t associate animation with kids, they associate it with comedy. If animation is to be taken seriously, the studios have to get more big, serious projects out there.

The Gee

A couple of things:
The tag for this post includes one for the TED conference. So, unless it is pertinent then shouldn’t it be just “Ted” for the movie he is helming?

Speaking of the movie, according the release date in the Trailers section on the right-hand side of this page, the movie will be going against the Batman sequel in its second weekend. That might not exactly be the pole position for it, in terms of a great release date. Maybe Universal (oh, beloved Universal!) is hoping for DVD sales and cable rights to make it totally worthwhile.

Robert

Universal moved the release date of ‘Ted” to June 29 several weeks ago. It has three weeks before “Dark Knight Rises’ hits.

Rufus

I think Seth McFarlane should be imprisoned for crimes against Animation. Triple lifetime, ban from any media releases and ban from attending any awards shows.

He’s the worst thing that hit television since Chuck Barris. So much influence and power in the medium and the best he can come up with is fart and incest jokes. And on any and all awards shows, he’s plain unfunny. Just awkward. Just put this guy out of everyone’s misery.
Hope he gets the pants sued off him for TED.

Funkybat

C’mon now, Chuck Barris was hilarious. If he were to come along in the Internet age, he’d be called an “Epic Troll.”

DonaldC

Well…I like American Dad.

Peter J Casey

I can’t believe these comments. You’re all acting like snobs.

Is Seth a control freak? Yes, he said so himself.

Does he produce the greatest animation ever known to man? No, because that takes a lot of time and money, something tv animation doesn’t offer.

Does he take advantage of employees and hire students to work on his show to disguise it as a class like some studios that rhyme with Nigital Nomain?

NO!! Seth pays well considering other animation studios and he has created JOBS!

JESUS CHRIST PEOPLE! Pull your head out of your asses and realize that ANIMATION IS A BUSINESS. I’d take HAVING A JOB in animation over flipping burgers any day. Especially if it’s for a show like family guy.

You people forget that the world can function without animation. It’s a form of entertainment, not a lifesorce.

Chris Sobieniak

Well thanks for being realistic.

Jorge Garrido

TV Animation doesn’t get a lot of time or money? His shows take a year and four million dollars to make.

Lennon

33 million a year? I need to get into the plagiarism business STAT!.

Rich Tom

Just when I thought he couldn’t be any more unappealing.

http://elblogderg.blogspot.com Roberto

I’m kinda intrigued about the whole Flinstones reboot, not saying I really want it to happen, but I’d like to know if he was planning to use the same type of humor and drawing style of his other shows, or not.

The moment I see the guy trying another kind of thing, like doing a show that’s not based on offensive humor or using good animation and/or beautiful designs he’ll win some respect from me. Actually I have always liked his Larry and Steve short for Cartoon Network. I wish he had followed that route.

http://estrellavega.com Estrella

I never was a huge fan of Family Guy. Sure I’ve laughed at some jokes, but I always felt the show was devoid of “heart”. For instance in the Simpsons (at least the early seasons, I haven’t kept up with it), you feel that the characters love each other and the stories, though sometimes far fetched, come from a familiar place…for instance Homer wanting Bart to respect him so he ends up climbing the tallest mountain in Springfield. Homer can be a jerk, but he has his moments of redemption. Peter on the other hand is just a jerk. If there ever was genuine emotion in his cartoons, it got lost between all the non sequitir jokes and pop culture references in the show.
I don’t begrudge Seth MacFarlane his success, in fact I admire how he’s climbed to the top making one show three different times. But I can’t see his success lasting if he doesn’t produce something different soon.

MissConception

“MacFarlane feels that animation doesn’t get any respect. He says, ‘There’s a prejudice against the medium of animation.’”

So he makes the lowest brow content he possibly can…. so people will finally start taking animation seriously.

Makes perfect sense.

Mick Aldighty

Seth McFarlane is a national treasure who should be treated as such. You know how many times I have been stoned and laughed my ass off to his cartoons? Countless.

Mr McFarlane I don’t care what the haters say your cartoons have been a steady supply of laughs for much of my adult life and I thank you for it!. Roger the Alien smokes crack and wears different types of wigs and outfits, its freaking genius, best cartoon character like ever! The episode where he went face down in the meth, I I thought I was gonna die laughing! :-) Your worth every penny you make my man! Best cartoon creator ever.

MagcargoMan

“There’s a prejudice against the medium of animation. I don’t care about winning awards, but it’ll be nice to do something that is perceived as slightly more significant.”

MacFarlane wonders as his purile lowest-common denominator show gets milked to death and dominates over animated shows that are more unique and actually intelligent.

Menachem Rephun

There is an ugliness at the core of Family Guy that is probably connected to the ugliness of its creator’s worldview.